Beautiful warships?

[NickJNZ]

Ray (Spursnut) queried whether warships could be described as ‘Beautiful’ ?
As in most things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the RN has generally been blessed, the Type 21s, though not the best warships, were beautiful ( in my opinion), and likewise the gun Leander’s.
I’d be interested to hear of others opinions.

[Malcolm G]

Yes, certainly agree that the type 21s were ‘beautiful’, in the sense that a fighting ship can thus qualify.
But, as they were designed by a private shipbuilder rather than a pure Naval design, that may have considerable bearing on their looks.

[Dartskipper]

This could be interesting! My favourites are as follows, not in any particular order.

HMS Tiger of 1914.
HMS Hood.
Leander Class cruisers of 1930's.
Tribal Class destroyers (HMS Cossack.)
Fairmile "B" ML's. (With a funnel!)
The Royal Yacht Britannia. (OK, not a warship, but certainly one of the most elegant vessels to wear the White Ensign.)

Regards.

[Greg Hayden]

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/lo...-diego-in-1983


SAN DIEGO — On February 26, 1983, Queen Elizabeth II landed on San Diego's shores aboard Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia. The Queen of England and Prince Philip had a full schedule while in town....

[170 Driver]

The Bismark was a thing of beauty.
All power and pace.
Looked like she was doing 20kts stood still.

[Tomvart]

Hmmmm, there have been so many!! So here's a selection of my candidates:

Capital ships
HMS Tiger (Battlecruiser 1913), stunning lines, powerful and fast.
HMS Hood
Scharnhorst
HMS Victorious (post '59 refit)
HMS Vanguard
Escorts
Tribal class Destroyers
1943 Battle class Destroyers
County class Destroyers
Leander class Frigates

[Dartskipper]

Three more to add;

USS Massachusetts.(BB59)
USS New Jersey.(BB62)
USS Baltimore (CA68).

[tugfan]

As Tomvart says, there have been so many. I guess it's all a matter of taste. And we all know what it is with taste, everybody has one and most of the times their all different. But I think we can all agree that HMS Hood was a beautiful ship. I would like to add a few others to this list.
The Dutch cruisers Hr. Ms. De Ruyter(1953) and Hr. Ms. de Zeven Provincien(1954).
The French la Galissonniere class cruisers after their refit in the U.S.
The Italian Littorio class battleships.
Yes. all gun armed ships. I just think that these older warships with their complex looking superstructures full of armament, range finders and directors look so much more interesting than the clean lines of modern warships. But that's just my taste.


Ton

[Malcolm G]

Just thinking about the word beautiful, as in aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
My own thoughts are that those named are generally 'Magnificent' or 'Impressive' even 'Awesome' as our American compatriots might say.
The lines of the hull and the sight of it passing across seas, yes, some beauty there. But overall, the whole package, I am not so sure about beauty.

[rogd]

I would say purposeful rather than beautiful.

[Engine Serang]

Purposeful and menacing, designed to kill people and hold cocktail parties. But not at the same time.

[waldziu]

Type 21s were indeed sleek messengers of death and although I never served on one it was impressive to see them do a standing start. They were also good for water skiing.